Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-445-4633

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Re: Dual Registration Policy

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

As more and more of our public land is closed to off-highway vehicles, owners of off-road motorcycles have in the past found it very beneficial to convert their dirt bikes and obtain street licenses for them. This allowed them to connect sections of their favorite trails with short sections of highway. Until 2004, California would issue street licenses to these machines as long as the appropriate safety equipment was added.

CARB reinterpreted this dual registration policy in 2003 and now requires on-highway emissions certification for dual registration. According to testing performed by CARB, 2003 and newer California off-highway "Green Sticker" motorcycles already meet or exceed on-highway California exhaust emission requirements. Unfortunately, an off-highway motorcycle does not have a vapor recovery system and has a normal service life of less than 18,000 kilometers; therefore, manufacturers cannot get California on-highway emissions certification for them. The contribution of those factors toward total emissions is miniscule, and of course occurs anyway whether the motorcycle is used on- or off-highway.

Allowing dual registration of motorcycles will give California much needed revenue from vehicle license fees, fuel taxes, sales taxes and business revenue taxes. California air quality will also be improved as older, non-compliant dual registration motorcycles are retired for cleaner, compliant "Green Sticker" bikes. Additionally, in many cases the owner of such a motorcycle can ride it on the street to the trailhead, rather than carrying it there in a higher-polluting truck. There will be no additional cost to the state because the DMV and CHP procedures are already in place for dual registration.

Please consider reviewing and reinstating the dual registration policy.

Respectfully,


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